Never Let Go
by Lady Elisabeth
Summary: Faro's thoughts as Sapphire is swept away into the Deep, and his struggle to get her back. My take on a moment that never happened in the Tide Knot, because it probably should have. One shot... for now. Faro/Sapphire


**Disclaimer: I don't own Ingo. =/**

**A/N: A small story about something I think could have happened in The Tide Knot. Because Faro's an idiot for not realizing this before. ;)**

**Also, this story used to be posted on a different account under the name Elisabeth on Msmes's account. This is, in fact, my piece of work, and was only placed on that account for personal reasons. It has been removed from Msmes's account, and will now be read on mine. Again, THIS IS MY STORY.**

**-LadyoftheWest2214**

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><p><em>Faro's face changes. With a shock I realise that for the first time since I've known him, he's afraid.<em>

Rogue current! _he shouts. _We've got to get out! Sapphire, kick out! Swim for it!

_Faro lets go of me to grab Conor with both hands. One moment we're together, and then I'm torn away by the current. I catch a last glimpse of them whirling away from me, and then they vanish. The current snatches us apart like the wind blowing rubbish along a gutter. I tumble over and over, blinded by my own hair, rushing down an endless tunnel in the current's roaring heart. -pg. 174_

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><p>How could everything have gone so wrong?<p>

I was finally taking Sapphire to see my beloved teacher, Saldowr, and to hopefully at last learn the secret I had been dying to tell her for so long. We were having another of our interesting Mer vs. human debates (though admittedly Conor spoiled it a little), and everything seemed perfectly all right, besides my apprehension at the siblings' reaction to the fate of their father.

Then came the rogue current.

It springs up out of nowhere, a monster from the Deep, and in that swirling, raging water I see everything most important to me being torn away. I clench Sapphire's hand more tightly, not wanting to lose her in the coming maelstrom.

"Rogue current!" I yell to my human companions. All at once, I remember how strong these currents are, and how weak I am in comparison. My face is tight with fear, some for myself, but mostly for Sapphire. Because I know my own strength, and I know the weight of the two humans, and I know the force of the water. There is no possible way that I can hold on to the two of them and still escape the current's wrath. Even alone, I am not sure that I could break free myself. And, though it causes me actual physical pain at the thought, I know which one needs me more.

_Sapphire is strong in Ingo, _I remind myself. _She is tough. She can survive much. _But I fear much, too much almost to go through with my necessary plan. It is almost irrational, how much my very body resists giving her up to the unmerciful sea.

It feels as if I am tearing out my own heart when I let go of her hand. _But you must, _I remind myself. I have no choice. Conor cannot survive without me. _It is what she would want._

"We've got to get out!" I shout now. I throw Sapphire a lifeline of instructions. "Sapphire, kick out! Swim for it!"

She understands what I've had to do. I see it in her eyes as I hold on to Conor with all my strength. But I also see that she will not give up without a fight. As I try desperately to hold on to her brother, he slips, and then we are connected only by my tight grip on his forearm. As I fight to hold on to Conor, Sapphire struggles towards me, and throws her arms around my chest.

For a moment, I feel her heartbeat against me, and I nearly forget the raging water in the wonder of that closeness, in the sudden rush of feeling that accompanies the frantic tempo of her straining heart. Her long red hair swirls around us, and her eyes are tightly shut against the force of the water. Time seems to slow, and I am sure to fix this last moment in my mind. I know she cannot stay forever. The water is too strong.

For a few more seconds, we stay like this; then, the angry sea pries her arms loose and sends her swirling away from me. I watch helplessly as she is swept down into the sunless crushing waters of the Deep, surely to death. No one, Mer or human, can possibly survive the weight of a thousand tons of water pressing down on them. I know she is lost to me forever.

I have no choice but to turn my sudden crushing grief into determination. Pulling Conor back to me with a surge of strength, I beat my tail furiously into the current. I want all at once to punish these cruel waters for taking my Sapphire away from me. My grip on Conor never falters, though we are battered by many objects flying through the sea. I refuse to let Sapphire's sacrifice be in vain.

After several long, turbulent moments that feel more like endless days, Conor and I finally are released from the rogue current. Through my despair, I wonder why we are at last set free. Did Ingo only want the sister, not the brother? And why? But I know that we are not truly safe yet. I must deliver Conor safely to Saldowr.

Conor is very weak from fighting the current, and it is all he can do to swim weakly with me. I pull him along by the wrist and beat my tail as furiously as before, for now I have a new mission; find Sapphire and bring her back, even if it is only her lifeless body that I find.

Time seems to crawl and yet fly, as in a dream. I am so dreadfully impatient to get to Sapphire, and yet it seems almost like I am detached from the world around me. It is many long, disjointed segments of time before I reach my venerated teacher and explain what has occurred, and another endless dreamlike while before I am able to get away. I do not tell either Conor or Saldowr of my intent, for they surely would not let me go.

I know I must do this. Even if it kills me, as it may well have killed Sapphire. There is next to no chance that she could have survived in that soulless place. I know I cannot. But if I cannot save her, I will at least join her.

For, in the past hour, I have come to the realization that my little_ hwoer_ means much more to me than a sister. I finally allow myself to accept it- Sapphire is the one I love. There can be no question about it. I feel as though I might die without her. And I will certainly sacrifice myself in my search for her, just as she did to save Conor in the rush of the current.

I leave the safe haven of Saldowr's gardens and back out into the pure blue water of truest Ingo. I relish every sight I see, knowing they will all soon be gone. Soon I am near the place we first were swept away.

I plunge down without any other thought but for Sapphire, without any other emotion than what I felt as she threw her arms around me in desperation as we were tossed about in the angry snake of a current. Down, down, down into the terrors and weight of the Deep. Soon, the light is so dim as to be very nearly gone. Pure Mer flows out of my mouth louder than I have ever shouted as I call for my love so loudly as to be heard a thousand leagues away, but still no response returns to me.

The exact moment when I lose consciousness is unknown to me. I only know that the darkness and unbearable pressure of the Deep is gone, and the blackness of my grief appears to swallow me whole instead.

_I'm sorry, _is my last faint cry to Sapphire before I sink into the depths of my own mind.

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><p><strong>AN: This was supposed to be a one-shot. However, it feels like it might need more... closure, so there may or may not be a chapter two. Right now I'm just listing it as complete.  
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**Thanks for reading.. and I always love constructive criticism. :) *HINT HINT***


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